A New War

A commemoration of the old war with an award for Ukraine reminds Europe to make choices and stay close to the US

A few days ago I landed in The Netherlands for a longer stay and no matter the 24/7 access to news we have wherever we are, it really helpful to get the local flavour and context to the news. My trip started off good, I attended the award ceremony of the prestigious Dutch ‘Geuzenpenning’ which is given each year to persons or organizations that have distinguished themselves with extraordinary efforts in fighting tyranny, hate and racism. Its roots go back to World War II when the Nazi occupiers violently cracked down on the first Dutch resistance group, ‘De Geuzen’ by executing eighteen of their members. It is was a defining moment for the Dutch and it is therefore remembered each year by presenting the award on the day the men were murdered, March 13.

In the presence of the Dutch King, the award this year went to Ukraine 5AM, which is a coalition of some 42 groups that actively collects and analyzes evidence of war crimes as committed by Russia. It was quite an emotional gathering, the church in the town of Schiedam was filled with relatives and survivors of the original Geuzen resistance group as well as a number of Ukrainian survivors and refugees.

The timing of it all was quite apt, of course. At the same time NATO Secretary-General Rutte was visiting with Trump in the White House to discuss the war’s progress, NATO’s role as well as the potential for a ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow. And in The Netherlands itself the fate of the coalition government was at risk as a majority in parliament turned out to be not supportive of a commitment the Dutch prime minister had made earlier to support raising 800 billion Euros through a bond issue to help build up a European defence force and support Ukraine. That move would not only add a significant and undesirable layer of debt on European countries’ balance sheets, it would also accelerate and necessitate far closer collaboration and integration of participating nations, in particular in defence and security. The spectre of a powerful Euro-state now assuming a level of responsibility that further overrides national governments while adding further economic hardships is making all of this controversial and potentially explosive political stuff.

Yet, as the speeches at the ceremony unfolded it became clearer that Europe’s governing elites are rapidly turning their minds to a new role for the old continent as the Americans have begun to check out. Even the non-political Dutch King nodded approvingly when it was outlined that the war in Ukraine was the frontline in the fight for democracy and not a conflict to be fixed by way of ‘a deal’. Europe now has to make important choices in this newly fractured and increasingly dangerous world. And for impact the audience was treated to the evidence of what so many wish to forget: a short movie depicting the horrors that Russia unleashed at 5am on February 24 in 2022 and which continue to this very day.

And it is a war that show no signs of ending, on the one hand Putin has been lukewarm to jump on board the plans that Trump is pushing, on the other Ukraine may draw strength from Europe’s newfound commitment to possibly keep the war going and improve its position.

The West is divided of course as it will take Europeans some time to get organized and everyone on the same page when it comes to financing the effort. Simultaneously, the now unstable relationship with Washington has to be preserved and somehow managed. I will leave you with a master class in diplomacy (video below), Mark Rutte who after complimenting Trump on opening the door to Russia waded into the Greenland discussion in a clever way while complimenting Trump. Some saw this as throwing fellow NATO member and Greenland’s sovereign Denmark under the bus and it got Rutte a lot of criticism yesterday. But at least it keeps the dialogue going with the easy to please president, maintain relations cordial and hopefully at some level, productive. The Dutch men executed eighty-four years ago died for the ideal of freedom: as precious and challenged then as it is today.

Photo: Dutch King Willem-Alexander with on his right Valentina Soloviova of the Ukraine 5AM Coalition who received the ‘Geuzenpenning’ for 2025.

The resistance group ‘De Geuzen’ hailed its name from 16th century Dutch noblemen who rebelled against the Spanish king and were during a meeting in 1566 with a representative of the Spanish Crown described as ‘beggars’, “Ce sont des Gueux”. Their role became a foundational piece of the Dutch nation and a name of honour, re-used again during the Second World War. A permanent monument to the WWII group is found in my town of birth, Vlaardingen. A man holding up his hand against tyranny, no further: